Tomlen

Updated 10 March 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 3rd February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 67 hours' notice of the inspection.

Updated 10 March 2022

This inspection was completed on 20 February 2108 and was unannounced.

Tomlen is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Tomlen primarily supports people with a learning disability and accommodates six people in one adapted building. There were six people living at Tomlen at the time of the inspection.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

There was a registered manager in post at the home. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The previous comprehensive inspection was completed in June 2015 and the service was rated ‘Good’ overall. At this inspection, the service was rated ‘Outstanding’.

The service remained outstandingly responsive to people’s needs. People received care from staff who were highly motivated to providing excellent levels of personalised care. People and their relatives were positive about the care and support they received. They told us staff were very caring and kind and they felt safe living in the home.

The service was exceptionally responsive to people’s individual interests and how they chose to lead their lives. People had access to an excellent range of activities which maximised their potential and enabled them to learn new life skills. The registered manager and staff had a ‘can do’ attitude and were creative in enabling people to overcome any perceived limitations and live a rewarding and fulfilling life. The registered manager and staff had an excellent understanding of people’s emotional well-being and provided appropriate support to people.

The service benefitted from excellent leadership. The registered manager was highly driven to ensure best practice was sustained. The registered manager was a member of various forums which were focused on promoting best practice and driving improvements in social care. We saw several examples of how people had benefitted from the registered manager’s involvement in these initiatives. People, staff and relatives spoke positively about the registered manager. Quality assurance checks were in place and identified actions to improve the service. The registered manager sought feedback from people and their relatives to continually improve the service.

Staff had been trained in safeguarding and had a good understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures. The administration and management of medicines was safe. There were sufficient numbers of staff working at the service. There was a robust recruitment process to ensure suitable staff were recruited. Risk assessments were updated to ensure people were supported in a safe manner and risks were minimised. Where people had suffered an accident, themes and trends had been analysed, and action had been taken to ensure people were safe and plans put in place to minimise the risk of re-occurrence.

Staff had received training appropriate to their role. People were supported to access health professionals when required. They could choose what they liked to eat and drink and were supported to prepare their own meals. People were supported in an individualised way that encouraged them to be as independent as possible. People were given information about the service in ways they wanted and could understand.